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Delis, Jewish

Mitte

Mitte’s gallery scene has been swelled by the regeneration of the Ehemalige Jüdische Mädchenschule (former Jewish girl’s school), built in 1930 and whose walls have borne out the turbulent history of the city. The impressive New Objectivity building houses...

Attractions

Mitte

Critics' choice

Free

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The Federal German Parliament was welcomed back from Bonn in 1999 with a new glass dome, a potent symbol of political aspiration, designed by British ‘starchitect’ Norman Foster. The Reichstag was built in 1894 to house the united German parliament; the...

Restaurants, German

Mitte

Das Lokal comes from fine heritage: formerly Kantine, a cult pop-up of sorts which had occupied a space earmarked for demolition in David Chipperfield’s architectural office. Their relocation to a permanent location on Linienstrasse sees the restaurant...

Time Out features

Art galleries

Rating: 5/5

Critics' choice

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Johann König is one of Berlin’s bona fide iconoclasts. Upon opening his gallery at the age of 21, in 2002, he promptly eschewed convention by inviting his friend, artist Jeppe Hein to install a wrecking ball, which swung about perilously, knocking chunks...

Restaurants and cafés, North American

Prenzlauer Berg

Head to The Bird up in Prenzlauer Berg (now opening a second branch in Kreuzberg) for a dip into that emotional, American relationship with beef. A dip, in the literal sense, as the menu hectors diners to ditch the ‘uptight’ knife and fork (rolls of kitchen...

Restaurants and cafés, European

Tiergarten

Rating: 5/5

Luxury

Critics' choice

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Probably Berlin's best restaurant right now, and with the awards to prove it. Chef Thomas Kammeier juxtaposes classic haute cuisine with an avant-garde new German style. Dishes such as cheek of ox with beluga lentils and filled calamares bring out the...

Fast food outlets, Turkish

Kreuzberg

Rating: 5/5

Budget

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A trip to Berlin isn’t complete without sampling the city’s most popular fast food – the Döner kebab. As legend has it, in 1971 one Kadir Nurman decided to adapt the traditional Iskender-style kebab from north-western Turkey to more local tastes by putting...

Attractions

Kreuzberg

Critics' choice

Free

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Topographie des Terrors, or the Topography of Terror, provides a frank account of the Nazis’ Secret State Police Office, which occupied the site next to the Martin Gropius Bau in central Mitte between 1933 and 1945. The subterranean museum is itself located...

Restaurants, Austrian

Kreuzberg

Rating: 5/5

Expensive

Critics' choice

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Some of the greatest spots for Germanic food in Berlin are actually Austrian: classic dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel (which is with veal) and Tafelspitz (braised beef) originate in Vienna, the ancient Imperial centre of Europe. One of the best-loved...

Galleries

One of Berlin’s most photographed tourist sights, this is the largest remaining section of Wall still standing, where, in 1990, international artists came together to produce 101 paintings across its side. Dmitri Vrubel’s striking portrait depicting Brezhnev...

Clubs

Friedrichshain

Critics' choice

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Easily the city’s most famous club and arguably the best club in the world, Berghain is not just a techno club: it’s a way of life for many of the tireless regulars who call it ‘church’. Housed within an imposing former power station, it emerged from...

Bars and pubs

Kreuzberg

Rating: 5/5

Critics' choice

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This Kreuzberg bar's magnificently-bearded owner Atalay Aktas is something of a Berlin legend, ever since his jaw-droppingly good cocktails won him the hotly-contested 'Germany's Best Mixologist' prize in 2013. You can see how Aktas wowed the crowd by...

Clubs

Kreuzberg

Critics' choice

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This slick club was one of the driving forces behind the rise of minimal techno in mid-2000s Berlin, as well as the first to feature a ceiling-mounted responsive LED lighting system, now copied all around the world. The downstairs Water Floor is particularly...

Cafés

Prenzlauer Berg

Rating: 5/5

Budget

Critics' choice

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Acolytes of the so-called ‘Third Wave’ of coffee production, Bonanza serves some of the best cups in Berlin. Its proprietors are fastidiously involved at every step of the process, from relationships with suppliers to roasting the beans in-house for freshness...

Attractions

Mitte

Free

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From Potsdamer Platz, it is a short walk to the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). This field of concrete slabs takes up the entire area of a city block, arranged in rows but rising to various heights on...

Clubs

Critics' choice

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As the controversial Media Spree development rapidly spreads down the riversides, gobbling up many of the city’s club spaces, the nightlife action is being pushed ever eastwards. One loosely knit party collective started throwing semi-legal irregular...

Bars and pubs, German

Prenzlauer Berg

Rating: 4/5

Mid-range

Critics' choice

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This rowdy beer garden has been doing Berliners a brisk service since 1852, and lies across the courtyard from an old ballroom of the same name, attracting a noisy crowd. The enthusiastic beer-swilling, big wooden tables and platefuls of Bratwurst and...

Markets

Critics' choice

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There were originally 14 covered municipal markets opened in the late 19th century to replace the traditional outdoor varieties and increase hygiene standards. Most disappeared and this listed building was going to be sold to developers in 2009 when a...

Art galleries

Critics' choice

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One of Berlin’s best-known spaces, Contemporary Fine Arts has been presenting idiosyncratic art from around the world since 1992. Run by Bruno Brunnet, Nicole Hackert and Philipp Haverkampf, CFA’s programme blends the outré and fresh with eminences, in...

Shops

Manufactum was founded in 1988 by a high profile Green Party politician as a counterpoint to cheap mass production, and quickly developed a cultish following with its ironic catalogue and impeccable product selection. It continues this same tradition...

Attractions

Charlottenburg

Critics' choice

Free

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The crown of the teeming ‘Ku’damm’ shopping boulevard, an artery through the former West, this church is a funny-peculiar landmark: its nickname, the ‘Broken Tooth’, is pointed. First built in 1895 as a memorial to Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia, whose troops...

Shops

Critics' choice

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The Voo concept store brings sleek fashions to an area usually associated with punkier looks. The expansive space, discreetly hidden in a courtyard off Kreuzberg’s busy Oranienstraße, is all untreated concrete walls and bold lighting, something typical...

Clubs

Critics' choice

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Named after its postcode (and neighbourhood shorthand) this legendary punk club dates back to Kreuzberg’s now-distant past as centre to West Berlin’s anarchist squat scene. The wild-child artist Martin Kippenberger took over management in 1979, attracting...